


Dance With Me

by Wxlves



Series: Wxlves' Ridiculous Modern AU Codywan Oneshots [2]
Category: Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, Like one micromolecule of angst, M/M, Once again Cody loses all his braincells as soon as he sees one (1) hot guy, Park Ranger Cody, Part 2 of my mission to make the clones anything but police/military, Professor Obi-Wan Kenobi, what is tagging
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-10
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-14 13:08:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28671252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wxlves/pseuds/Wxlves
Summary: Suddenly decisive, Obi-Wan put his plate down on the empty chair next to him and stood, holding out a hand to pull Cody up. “Dance with me,” he said, nodding to the middle of the room where single dancers and partners spun and hopped to the holiday music coming through the speakers.“Oh, I don’t—”“Cody,” Obi-Wan sighed, pointing to a young Twi’lek, a former student of his, as she whirled around gracelessly with a tall Pantoran, “If you were about to say that you don’t dance, I might like to point out that nobody here is what you’d call a professional.”Cody, though he still looked uncertain, allowed himself to be tugged to his feet, leaving his cup and plate behind him on the now-unoccupied chair.
Relationships: CC-2224 | Cody/Obi-Wan Kenobi, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker
Series: Wxlves' Ridiculous Modern AU Codywan Oneshots [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2102322
Comments: 21
Kudos: 180





	Dance With Me

**Author's Note:**

> There's one *very* brief mention of suicide. I marked off either end of that little section with *** so feel free to skip it if you need/want!
> 
> Based (loosely) on the good things happen bingo prompt "Dance with me"

“Ah, Cody, you’re here.”

Cody had barely shut the ranger’s office door behind himself when Shaak Ti was on him, an unusual occurrence since he and the togruta had reached an agreement in which she left him alone at least until his first cup of caf was gone. It sloshed half-drunk in his “Planet’s Best Dad” mug (a gag gift from Rex) and Cody stared down at it with the sinking feeling that this was going to be a  _ long _ day.

Somehow, he mustered up the energy for a, “Good morning, Sir.”

Ti smiled warmly, holding out a piece of paper for him to take. “Good morning. I’ve got you doing something different than your usual today.” Cody quite liked his usual — patrol and maintenance routes through the furthest reaches of the expansive park — but he wasn’t what anyone could call a complainer. Nodding solemnly, he took the paper, glancing it over as Ti added, “You’ll be escorting a university research group as they collect data on the Resolute River Basin. They’re practically adults and don’t exactly need a babysitter, but it’s park rules that we have an employee of our own with groups like that.”

Hopefully the students would be busy enough with their findings that they wouldn’t find much reason to speak with Cody. Wolffe liked to call him taciturn (as though he’s one to talk) but Cody preferred  _ reserved.  _

“When am I to meet them?”

Ti glanced down at her watch. “If you leave for the basin soon, you should get there right on time. But you  _ can _ finish your coffee first, of course.” The bemused glance she sent him made it clear she wasn’t making fun; still, Cody tossed back the rest, rinsed the mug, and stowed it in his locker, back out the office door in a matter of moments.

The river basin was relatively close to the ranger’s office, a short drive down a bumpy gravel road that spit Cody out in a tiny parking lot. From the lot it was an easy hike (a walk, really) to the shores of the basin, but Cody figured it might be best to wait here for the students rather than leave them to find the riverbank alone. He didn’t wait long until a rattling monster of a bus pulled into the parking lot, that strangely familiar smell of leather-plast seats spilling out and hitting Cody with a faceful of suppressed memories and nostalgia.

The first man off the bus looked older than most university students, striding over to Cody with an easy self-assurety and holding out his hand to shake. “Professor Obi-Wan Kenobi.”

_ Hot  _ professor, a part of Cody’s brain helpfully supplied. He ignored it.

“Cody Fett, I’m a ranger with Kamino National Park.”

Kenobi tilted his head, assessing gaze flickering over Cody for a moment. Cody tried not to shift under the stare before Kenobi hummed thoughtfully. “I spoke via holo-call with another ranger Fett when I set this up, but I don’t believe that was you, was it?”

“Probably one of my siblings,” Cody replied. “Blond buzzcut?”

“No, a tattoo on her right temple?”

_ Ah.  _ “That was my sister Fives. Is everyone here?”

“Goodness, I hope so,” Kenobi laughed, turning to glance at the students who’d assembled behind him. Some stood silently, eyes turned upwards to the treetops or examining the ground, while others talked and jostled each other, laughing quietly. “It appears that yes, we’re all here. Kareem, would you be so kind as to carry the equipment cases for me?” The gray-skinned Besalisk nodded amicably, picking up the black metal cases in three of his four heavily-muscled arms with ease.

“After you, Cody.”

As he led them down the path to the riverbank, Cody kept a close eye on the students, especially the Besalisk tasked with the equipment cases. The sturdy-footed Besalisk appeared fine on the trail, in fact it was the slender Rodian who appeared to have the most trouble, but before Cody could offer his help, a looming Trandoshan moved to hold his classmate’s arm with a toothy smile.

When they reached the basin the students quickly and efficiently took out their testing equipment and pulled on waders and tall rubber boots. Cody thought he’d simply be monitoring from afar, alone, but to his surprise Kenobi settled onto the fallen log next to him, keeping a respectful distance. Cody’s solitude was suddenly a little less… solitary, and yet he found he didn’t mind much. Kenobi seemed like he’d regard Cody’s wish for silence, and his presence was unobtrusive from where he sat a few feet down the log.

“Are you not involved in the research?” Cody asked, breaking the comfortable quiet between them.

“I’m here to observe and offer limited assistance, but this is actually their graduate research, a kind of joint thesis.”

Cody couldn’t keep the faint surprise from his voice. “So this is ongoing.”

“School just started again and this is the first of many data collections; we’ll return twice a month for the remainder of the year until the final presentation of their findings. You didn’t know?” Kenobi’s brow furrowed as though he felt it was some trouble on Cody’s part.

“I didn’t,” he admitted, “I actually found out about this when I came to work, oh…” He glanced down at his watch, “…About an hour ago. I usually do more trail and forest maintenance.”

“In that case, I’ll leave you be. You seem like a man who enjoys some peace and quiet.”

Kenobi moved to stand, but before he got anywhere Cody said, “It’s okay. You’re good company.” Kenobi gave him an arched look that Cody might call surprise if the man’s every expression wasn’t so damn controlled. “…And watching the students work is interesting.” Cody thanked any and every deity in the high heavens that his skin was dark enough to hide the flush that was definitely  _ not  _ painted across his cheeks. He was forty years old, an experienced wilderness ranger and ex-mountaineer who’d climbed the infamous Mustafar Peak and once fought off a rabid cherfer (a story Tup had begged out of him dozens of times). He didn’t  _ blush, _ especially not over bearded, red-haired professors with polished accents and extraordinarily blue eyes and—

That’s enough of that.

Kenobi returned to the log (was he sitting closer than before?) after a long moment. It was silent for a few more minutes before he spoke again. “You work with your siblings?”

“We all work for the park in some way or another, but we don’t all work together directly. Fives, Rex, Jesse and I are all rangers, Echo works in advertising, Wolffe’s in wildlife management, and Kix is an emergency medic. Do you have much family?”

“A younger brother and sister, of sorts. None of us are truly related, Ahsoka’s fully Togruta and Anakin is from Tatooine, but we’ve been raised as siblings and blood makes no matter.”

“Aliit ori'shya tal'din.”

“Family is more than blood,” Kenobi translated easily, his lips quirking upwards at Cody’s visible surprise. “You’re Mandalorian, then?”

“By my father. You speak Mando’a?”

“I speak many languages, my friend.”

Before Cody could begin to formulate an intelligent response beyond “uhh” one of Kenobi’s students called out, “Professor! Stop flirting with the hot park ranger and check this out!”

Already Cody was beginning to figure out Kenobi’s microexpressions, including that barely-there twitch of the eye that meant something along the lines of “very close to murdering a student.” Rather than give in to homicidal whims, Kenobi turned to where the students were clustered, many clearly hiding laughter behind their hands.

“Basic manners were not built into this course’s curriculum, but I will  _ make  _ the time for it if I see the need.” Despite his threat, Kenobi hauled himself off the log to see to his students, sparing an apologetic glance for Cody. He barely noticed, still stuck on the idea of a Kiffar half his age calling him “hot.”

If Rex ever caught wind of this, he would  _ never _ let Cody live it down.

Kenobi summoned him from his thoughts with, “Cody, would you come here a moment?”

“Yessir.”

“Oh no need for that, even my students call me Obi-Wan.”

“Obi-Wan, then,” Cody said, peering over several shoulders. “What is it?”

“We were hoping you might know, I’m afraid my knowledge of local species is limited.”

There, crouched at the center of the group of gawking students and cooing nervously, was a vibrant red and green creature with a frog’s body and a diamond-shaped, snake-like head that protruded from a long neck, almost reminiscent of a Kaminoan’s. Cody’s jaw hit the floor, and he couldn’t keep the excitement from his voice. “That’s a Vespet! They’ve been nearly gone from this river thanks to pollution, and the fact that you’re seeing one means the river’s health could be on the upswing.” Cody made a mental note to tell Shaak Ti, too, she’d be delighted by the news.

“They’re an indicator species,” The Rodian murmured, awestruck.

“Exactly. In addition to the data you’re already gathering, keeping an eye on Vespet sightings could be a less data-driven way of monitoring pollution.”

“Well,” Obi-Wan said, sounding impressed, “I’m certainly glad we have you here, Cody.” He moved a hand to Cody’s shoulder, the touch friendly yet brief, as the students all joined in a clamor of thank-you’s and damn-this-is-cool’s.

Cody returned to his log, unneeded for the rest of the morning until the students were packing up, stripping out of waders and boots and boarding their bus with waves goodbye. The young Kiffar even begged pardon for his joke earlier, to which Cody only laughed and nodded in thanks. Obi-Wan was the last to board, shaking Cody’s hand firmly. “Thank you, Cody, your help today was more useful than you can know.”

“It’s my pleasure,” Cody said, surprised to find he meant it.

“Will we be seeing you here again?”

“It’s likely.”

Was Cody imagining the warmth in Obi-Wan’s smile? He hoped not, even as Obi-Wan raised a hand in a final goodbye and stepped onto the bus, doors squealing shut behind him.

That evening Cody caught Ti just as she was leaving the ranger’s office. “Shaak, I was wondering if I’ve been assigned to all of the University’s research visits.”

The Togruta smiled. “Not to worry, Cody, I’ll have you and your siblings rotating shifts with them. You can have your forested solitude for another few weeks.”

“If it wouldn’t be a bother…” He rubbed the back of his neck, self-conscious. “…I’d like to work with them every time, at least whenever possible.”

Ti’s brow markings rose, nearly brushing the gray-and-white of her leks. “Now there’s something I didn’t expect out of you, Fett. You’re perfectly welcome to it unless your siblings protest, though I don’t believe they would.”

“No, I doubt it. Thank you, Shaak.”

“Of course, Cody. Professor Kenobi’s really something, hm?” Cody froze, car keys dangling from one hand, empty mug in the other, but there was no guile or sly knowledge in Shaak’s kind face. “He’s several years younger than me, but he was in a few of my classes — the man’s a bit of a genius.”

Letting a sigh escape him, Cody nodded. “He certainly seemed that way. Oh, Shaak, I almost forgot!”

She paused, her hand already on the doorknob, sending Cody a questioning glance. 

“The students found a Vespet!”

In a rather unexpected move, Shaak left the doorway to give Cody a hard smack on the shoulder. “Fett!”

“Ow,” he grumbled, more out of reflex than anything. “What?”

“You ‘almost forgot’?” Shaak hissed. “Why wouldn’t you  _ start  _ with that?”

Cody could only offer a sheepish shrug, and Shaak’s leks swung as she shook her head. “You Fetts, I swear…”

She didn’t finish her sentence, at least as far as Cody could hear, only muttered quietly to herself as she stalked out of the office once and for all.

————————

Sunny fall days gave way to blustery cold which, in turn, became ice-ridden winter days. Through all of it Cody drove out to the river basin twice each month, looking forward to seeing both Obi-Wan and his students. Sometimes they asked him questions but he was usually left to his own devices; he and Obi-Wan who, because the research was his students’ to do, could only offer so much help.

The longer he worked, the more he got to know the students in spite of his limited functionality. He came to know Sheeva, the contemplative Rodian who spoke little and watched everything around her with those wide, starry eyes. There were Myr and Jes, twin Nautolans who couldn’t seem to go more than a minute without ribbing each other, and Shreik, whose almost permanently scowling expression and dark Zabrak tattoos were offset by an unexpected, sunny disposition and keen intellect.

And then there was Obi-Wan.

Cody wasn’t sure he had words for Obi-Wan, for his sharp mind and silver tongue, for the straight-backed set of his shoulders and the strength in his hands, for his dry humor and endless patience.

Yeah, Cody was head over heels. At least he was  _ kotep _ enough to admit it to himself.

When the students and Obi-Wan all piled off the bus for December’s second visit, Cody rallied them around him. “Before we go to the river, I want to show you all something.” From the pocket of his oversized coat he produced a Gartros skull, the crown smooth as a river rock, the mouth filled with wicked, needle-like teeth. He placed it in Sheeva’s hand first, saying, “You can pass it around, it’s safe to touch.”

“Aren’t you supposed to leave things undisturbed in the park?” Zehas asked, his huge, clawed hands tracing reverently over the smooth surfaces of the tiny skull.

“Normally you’d be right, but taking a skull, picked clean of remains as it is, is not like pulling live plants from the ground.” Noticing the vaguely concerned look on Bajar’s face, currently holding the skull, Cody smiled and added, “We cleaned it ourselves too, soaked it in a non-damaging solution.”

Cody waited until the skull finally made its way to Obi-Wan’s hands before he turned his back to usher the students down the now-familiar river path, ignoring Obi-Wan’s aborted move to hand the skull back to him. It was only when the students were once again knee-deep in the water, talking amongst themselves as they performed their tests, that Obi-Wan held the skull out in his gloved palm. Cody shook his head. “I thought you might like to keep it, maybe put it on your desk or in your office.” Animal remains would certainly be a strange gift for anyone besides an Earth and Environment professor, though Obi-Wan looked touched. It was hard to see under his heavy knitted scarf, but Cody thought he might be smiling judging by the faint crinkles around his eyes.

“A beautiful gift… thank you.” Every word out of Obi-Wan’s mouth was achingly sincere, never glib or empty, and Cody didn’t doubt his thanks were wholehearted. “The Environmental Sciences department is having a holiday party the day after next, if you’d like to come?”

Cody blinked, surprised. He didn’t have anything better to do (weekly Fett movie night certainly wasn’t  _ obligatory) _ but he wasn’t sure what Obi-Wan meant in extending the invitation.

“It’s not exactly a private affair,” Obi-Wan laughed, sensing Cody’s hesitation, “I’ve brought my brother and his wife twice, professors from other departments and even students come by, and spouses or friends are almost always in attendance. I’m sure my coworkers would love to meet you, too.”

His words were delivered on a dual edge. If it was so casual then Obi-Wan was likely only asking to be friendly, but… he’d talked about Cody to his coworkers?  _ Of course he has, _ Cody scolded himself,  _ you've worked with the man for four months. _ After what must have been an awkwardly long silence, warring with himself, Cody nodded. “I’d love to come.”

“Please, don’t feel compel—”

“I’d love to,” He interrupted, more firmly this time. “Just let me know when and where.”

Obi-Wan’s answering smile was easily worth the moment of conflict before it turned into something almost embarrassed as Cody reached for his cellphone. “I already have your number, Shaak gave it to me in case I ever needed to contact you.”

“Oh, of course.” Cody slipped his phone back into his pocket, once again forced to pretend he wasn’t blushing, sure Obi-Wan could  _ feel _ the heat radiating from his cheeks. “Just message me the details.”

Obi-Wan opened his mouth to reply, then paused, shutting it. Another smile flitted across his face, there and then gone. “It seems we have an audience.”

Cody turned to see the students all watching them with varying degrees of subtlety. Some looked away quickly, others appeared to have only been listening, and Koren, the lanky Kiffar with a mind for trouble, was openly grinning in their direction. Cody sent them his finest unimpressed glare, the kind he’d perfected on his  _ vod’ika _ , a contrast to Obi-Wan’s more mild look of disappointment.

“I don’t suppose you all have something better to do than gawk?”

————————

“Rex, I’m serious!”

“No, you’re overthinking. Just wear something passably nice: nothing too fancy, but still better than street clothes.”

“Like what? It’s only a work party, what if I’m overdressed? What if I’m underdressed?”

Rex sighed, rubbing a hand over his forehead in defeat. “Okay, we need a starting point. Is this a date or not?”

Cody winced. “I don’t know.”

“You don’t—” Cutting himself off, Rex threw his hands up in the air. “At least tell me if you think he feels the same. Could he be in the same boat as you,  _ hoping _ it’s a date?”

“I don’t know?”

“You useless homosexual,” Rex sighed. Affronted, Cody took a deep breath and prepared to defend himself. He was interrupted. “No, you don’t get to argue. I love you,  _ Kote, _ but you’re an idiot when it comes to things like this. You don’t even have an  _ inkling _ of what this man feels for you?”

“Sorry if I’m a little repressed, Rex, as you well know, Jango wasn’t exactly the most supportive dad.”

“Cody.” Rex leveled him with a flat look. “Are you genuinely trying to have a talk about your emotions or are you playing the ‘shitty dad’ card to get back at me? And why are you even asking  _ me  _ for advice about this?”

“Who else would I ask, Wolffe?”

Rex’s sarcastic snort was answer enough. “Fine, you make a good point. Just wear the black button up and some nice jeans, I quit.”

“You can’t—”

“I quit!” Rex called over his shoulder, already halfway out the bedroom door. “I’m going to steal your food and wait for you to change, come show me when you’re done.” Cody sent a rude gesture at Rex’s back but obliged, grudgingly admitting that his brother, despite being a massive pain in the  _ shebs _ , had good fashion sense.

Even so, standing before Rex in the kitchen, self-consciously tugging the ends of his sleeves as his brother looked him up and down, appraising… he wondered what the hell he was really doing.

He certainly wasn’t young anymore, that undeniable milestone of forty was a full year behind him. Though he still had the muscles of someone used to hard labor, his shoulders broad as ever, a layer of fat hid the hard planes of his stomach, his thighs a bit softer than they used to be. As much as he tried to ignore them, a few gray hairs peppered the dark curls around his temples, and the faintest beginnings of crow’s-feet were now etched around his eyes. He was a hard-headed, lone-wolf ranger who’d spent half his life raising his siblings and the other half in the woods and mountains, better acquainted with the wildlife than with any sentient beings besides his family and his boss.

“Uh-oh,” Rex said, interrupting Cody’s train of thought, “Those better not be self-deprecating thoughts floating around in that scarred head of yours.” He reached out to rap his knuckles against Cody’s forehead, receiving a halfhearted stomp on the foot for his efforts.

“I’m just… I’m  _ old  _ Rex.” That wasn’t quite what Cody meant to say, but it was close enough to the doubts circling through his mind.

“Who cares, Cody, you’re a catch. A silver fox, if you will.” He winked.

“I’m going to walk right out that door and when I come back in, it better be to a normal conversation.” Cody and Rex both turned to see Fives on the threshold, muscled arms crossed over her chest. “I don’t know  _ what  _ I walked into—”

“He’s being stupid,” Rex summed up, ignoring Cody’s scowl. “Besides,” he added, turning his attention back to Cody, “You’re not exactly a cougar. If Obi-Wan’s teaching at a university level, he can’t be much younger than you. Now go, before you’re late.” That said, he practically shoved Cody out the back door.

“He’s got a date?” He heard Fives ask Rex as the door swung shut behind him. Then, louder for Cody’s benefit, “Knock ’em dead,  _ Kod'ika!" _

————————

Obi-Wan was, as per usual, a few minutes early. They’d commandeered a larger classroom for the party, and he helped Aayla move the desks together into a makeshift buffet table along one wall. He also plugged in the standing lamp he’d brought, the light fixture joining the veritable army of them already plugged into any available outlet. The lamps (a new year’s party tradition) lent a cozier look to the room than the white glare of the fluorescent overheads.

At eight on the dot, punctual enough that Obi-Wan briefly wondered if he’d been waiting outside, Cody appeared in the doorway. He glanced around, nervous, a small covered dish clutched in his hands. His eyes alit on Obi-Wan after a moment and he smiled, wide and genuine.

Oh, Force.

The warm, low light cast Cody’s cheekbones and jaw in sharp relief, softening the wicked curve of that scar Obi-Wan had yet to muster up the courage to ask about. His black shirt looked silken and soft to the touch, the top button undone for a remarkably smart yet casual look, sleeves rolled past his muscled forearms—

Oh,  _ Force. _ Obi-Wan was well and truly  _ screwed, _ as his students would say.

But they were in a classroom now, Obi-Wan’s natural habitat in a manner of speaking, and the familiar surroundings put him on a more even keel. Striding up to Cody, he took the dish from his hands with a gracious smile. “Thank you, Cody, you really didn’t have to bring anything.”

“I’d feel bad if I didn’t.” Obi-Wan almost regretted taking the dish from him, the poor man didn’t seem to know what to do with his hands, but rather than loiter in the doorway, he gestured with his head for Cody to follow him to the table.

“This smells positively delicious. What is it?”

“Ground meat with traditional Mandalorian spices and nuts. It’s usually served on a flatbread, but it works on its own too. It’s hot,” Cody added, a wry smile curling one side of his mouth as though he knew just how poorly Obi-Wan handled spice.

With a smile of his own, Obi-Wan chuckled, “Duly noted.”

Turning to the rest of the classroom, Cody studied it with an interested eye, his gaze landing on the lamps around the room. “It’s been a  _ very _ long time since I set foot in a classroom.”

Cody hadn’t gone to university, Obi-Wan recalled, learning everything he knew on the job. “I’m sure experience was the best kind of teacher,” he’d once said to Cody after noting the way he seemed almost embarrassed by his limited education, “Far better than I could ever hope to be.” Cody had determinedly ducked his head, looking doubtful, but Obi-Wan had meant every word. Cody  _ was _ brilliant, after all, and when he could get him to string together more than three words at a time his intelligence became glaringly obvious.

“I’ve spent my entire life in classrooms, one way or another. First sitting behind those little desks like everyone else, then moving on to the larger ones at the front of the room. They’re much more comfortable, I have to say.”

Cody huffed a laugh, but any reply was cut off by a drawling voice from his left. “Kenobi!”

Obi-Wan let out a long-suffering sigh. “Quinlan. Remind me why you’re here again? The psychology department is on the other end of campus, as I so recall.”

“I’m here with my sister,” he said, tossing a thumb in Aayla’s general direction. “Shouldn’t you be used to me after all these years?”

“I suspect it takes a lot to get used to the likes of you, Vos.” Despite their bickering, Obi-Wan did enjoy Quinlan’s company. He was both easy to like and very, very difficult to tolerate in the same moment, brimming with easy charm and an infuriating, laughing arrogance.

“Ah, I keep things interesting,” Quinlan shot back. As though he’d just noticed Cody he paused, turning to him with an assessing look. “Who’s mister tall, dark, and handsome over here?”

Quinlan never ceased to surprise with his absolute lack of tact. “Quinlan Vos, meet ranger Cody Fett. Cody, Quinlan.”

“Well met,” Cody said, holding out a hand to shake. Impassive as his face was, Obi-Wan could detect the barest hint of humor in the arch of his brows.

“Well met indeed,” Quinlan murmured, clasping both hands around Cody’s for just a moment too long—reading him, no doubt. Whatever Quinlan saw made him look to Obi-Wan, bemused. “I’ll leave you two to it, I’m sure plenty of the environmental professors want to meet you, Fett, you’re practically a celebrity.” As quickly as he’d appeared, the Kiffar was gone, leaving Obi-Wan with a confused Cody and the beginnings of a headache.

Barely a second later Kit materialized, his booming voice almost jarring, the usual infectious grin plastered across his face. “Obi-Wan! And you must be the ranger who’s been helping him out! I’m Kit Fisto, professor of Ocean Sciences.” With a friendliness bordering on exuberance, Kit took Cody’s hand in what Obi-Wan knew to be a bone-crushing handshake. Before Obi-Wan or Cody could get a word in edgewise, the Nautolan — impossibly — smiled even wider, sharp teeth flashing. “Your idea to monitor Vespet populations was ingenious, Fett, ingenious! And I’ve never seen a gartros skull before. They’re amazing little creatures, are they not?”

“Yes, they are,” Cody said, almost flustered, “But I’d stay far away from those teeth if I were handling a live one.”

“Of course, of course,” Kit laughed. His natural extroversion seemed to almost put Cody at ease, as though it was a relief to know he didn’t have to carry the conversation. Kit had that effect on people; though Obi-Wan knew how to smoothly navigate his way through even difficult conversations, he was not what anyone might call chatty and he had no real love for hearing himself speak.

Cody and Kit continued to converse (namely, Kit talking and Cody replying monosyllabically) while Obi-Wan did his best to pretend he was following the conversation and not simply staring at Cody. 

After Kit wandered off a few others came over to speak to both Obi-Wan and Cody, including Aayla, whose first words were in apology for her elder brother, Yoda, whose backward speech seemed to amuse and baffle Cody, and Plo Koon, who introduced himself as “The only voice of reason in the room.” Even while everyone mingled, talking, eating, and simply enjoying the company, Cody stayed by Obi-Wan’s side, a taller, softer-spoken shadow. Obi-Wan didn’t mind the company, and Cody’s quiet jokes, delivered in a murmur only Obi-Wan could hear, were amusing enough that Obi-Wan was forced to put down his drink for fear of spilling it as he laughed. When Cody leaned close enough that Obi-Wan’s hand brushed the fabric of his shirt, he found that it was indeed as soft as it looked.

It took an absurd amount of control not to reach out and consciously touch him.

Suddenly decisive, Obi-Wan put his plate down on the empty chair next to him and stood, holding out a hand to pull Cody up. “Dance with me,” he said, nodding to the middle of the room where single dancers and partners spun and hopped to the holiday music coming through the speakers.

“Oh, I don’t—”

“Cody,” Obi-Wan sighed, pointing to a young Twi’lek, a former student of his, as she whirled around gracelessly with a tall Pantoran, “If you were about to say that you don’t dance, I might like to point out that nobody here is what you’d call a professional.”

Cody, though he still looked uncertain, allowed himself to be tugged to his feet, leaving his cup and plate behind him on the now-unoccupied chair. Taking his hand, Obi-Wan led him onto the floor and into the first few steps of a waltz. Cody caught on quickly, matching his steps with passable skill and asking, “Ballroom dancing. Really?”

“If you prefer something a bit more racey, I’ll oblige,” Obi-Wan returned, “Though I’m afraid it’s been nearly a decade since I set foot in a nightclub. I might be out of practice.”

He felt the warm brush of Cody’s breath as he gave a short, muted laugh. “I’d hate for you to scandalize your coworkers in such a way.” Then, almost as an afterthought, “But something tells me you’d be good at it.”

Obi-Wan pulled farther away so he could meet Cody’s eyes, rich amber irises glimmering with mischief. Was he… flirting? Two could play that game, and Obi-Wan was nothing if not eloquent. “Perhaps when this party adjourns we could head over to 79’s and you can find out for yourself, Cody, though I’d suggest undoing a few more buttons to accommodate for the change in venue.”

All of Cody’s bravado left him in the same moment Obi-Wan’s words registered. He glanced away quickly, clearing his throat, leaving Obi-Wan to wonder if he’d pushed too far: and yet, for all his embarrassment, Cody looked pleased.

The Force must have been conspiring against him, that or whoever was in charge of the playlist, because the lighthearted holiday tune gave way to a slower song. Cody tensed and Obi-Wan almost suggested they leave the makeshift dance floor and allow some more space for the few couples there when the sudden feeling of a hand on his back gave him pause, fingers curling slightly in the folds of his knit sweater. By the time he’d realized what was happening, Cody had stepped closer, a solid warmth that Obi-Wan wanted nothing more than to lean into; instead, he cautiously moved his own hand to the small of Cody’s back. Cody was just a bit taller, enough so that were Obi-Wan to lean in, he could press a kiss to the curve of his jaw, could feel that unwavering warmth beneath his lips.

But that would, without a doubt, be pushing too far. He settled for glancing up at Cody. A mistake.

His eyes, his skin, were all turned to gold in the warm light of the lamps, his expression more open and honest than Obi-Wan had seen yet. Hopeful and nervous and so, so beautiful.

Obi-Wan’s left hand was still entwined with Cody’s right, but he splayed the fingers of his other hand across Cody’s lower back, purposeful, feeling the movement as he took a deep breath and asked, “Is this… alright?”

Obi-Wan didn’t bother to reply verbally: the way he leaned into Cody’s embrace was answer enough.

They stayed like that, moving with the music like a pair of teenagers at a school dance, carefully avoiding the other couples dancing. “Would it kill the mood if I said this reminds me of my prom,” Obi-Wan laughed into Cody’s shoulder, feeling the movement as Cody chuckled too.

“Yeah? Who’d you go with?”

“My girlfriend at the time, Satine Kryze. We broke up not long after.”

“What happened?”

“Reality happened. Who did you go with?”

“A friend of mine. Everyone thought we were dating at the time, and we might’ve gotten together if…”

“If what?” 

Cody’s low, rumbling voice was full of mirth. “If I hadn’t realized I like men. And if she hadn’t realized she liked women.”

“That would put a damper on things.” Close as they were, the sudden buzz of Obi-Wan’s phone in his pocket startled Cody as much as it startled him. Their hands slipped apart, the space between them suddenly too cold for comfort as Obi-Wan checked the caller ID. Anakin.

Excusing himself, Obi-Wan headed for a quieter corner of the room, plugging his opposite ear with a finger so he could hear his brother. “Obi! Padme’s gone into labor, she’s at Coruscant General Hospital and I’m on my way but I’m still probably three hours out, two and a half if I speed—”

Considering Anakin’s usual lead foot, Obi-Wan didn’t really want to know what  _ his  _ definition of speeding was. “I’ll be there as soon as I can, Anakin,” he interrupted, “Just drive… and don’t get pulled over.”

Anakin cut off his own goodbye as he hung up, and Obi-Wan turned to find a concerned Cody hovering a few feet away, hands in his pockets. “You sounded worried, is everything alright?”

Obi-Wan ran a hand through his hair, feeling it fall back in front of his face almost immediately. “It will be eventually, but right now there’s some pre-baby panic. I have to get to the hospital but I took the bus here and Force knows public transport is slow and—”

“Breathe.” Cody’s hands were firm on Obi-Wan’s shoulders. “I’ve got enough little brothers to know about pre-baby panic, and if you’re not a parent, it’s your job to be the level-headed one. Let me drive you.”

“I can’t ask you to—”

“You’re not asking, I’m offering. Now, she’s a rickety pickup truck and she’s seen better days, but she can get us to the hospital in record time.”

Could this man get any more perfect? Obi-Wan doubted it, even as he waved rushed goodbyes to his coworkers and bolted, towing Cody along behind him.

‘Rickety’ certainly proved to be the right word for his truck, a yellow, rusted monstrosity that creaked and listed dangerously when the two men climbed in. “You should see Rex’s,” Cody joked as he wrestled with the ignition, “it’s like this, but blue and somehow worse.”

Obi-Wan’s laugh must have come out a little flat because Cody chanced a look over at him, eyes roving from the road to give him a worried look. “These things usually work out just fine,” he said, reaching across the middle console to take his hand, “And unless it’s—” He stopped, looked stricken. “—it’s not your kid, right?”

That got a more genuine, if strangled, laugh from Obi-Wan. “No, no. My students are children enough sometimes, and I haven’t dated in… a long while.”

“That makes two of us,” Cody snorted. “Like I was saying, the parents are allowed to panic:  _ you _ have to have the level head.”

“How many times have you done this?” A weak attempt at distracting himself, but Cody took the bait.

“I was still young when Wolffe was born and neither Jesse or Kix’s mothers wanted any of Jango’s other… brood there. Bitter reminders that they were far from the only women in his life, I guess. It was Rex, Fives and Echo that I was actually there for. Rex’s mother barely glanced at him before she dropped him in my fifteen-year-old arms and disappeared, but that’s her loss.” Cody shrugged, feigning nonchalance, but the way his fingers tightened around Obi-Wan’s spoke volumes on how he felt about  _ that. _

“Actually,” he continued in an attempt to lighten the conversation (acting as though he hadn’t just blown through a red light at top speed), “We all thought Fives’ birth was some elaborate prank.”

“Why?” Obi-Wan questioned, letting the rough cadence of Cody’s voice pull him out of his own worried mind for a moment.

“Because she’s the only woman out of nine siblings and her eyes are hazel, not brown like the rest of ours. Whose kid is this, by the way?”

" _ Kids,  _ actually, a boy and a girl. They’re Anakin’s.”

“So you’re going to be an uncle!” Cody glanced over at Obi-Wan in excitement — a nerve-wracking experience thanks to his already reckless driving.

“Keep your eyes on the road, Cody, I’d like to get to the hospital in one piece.”

Sheepish but smiling, Cody fixed his gaze on the road before them, stepping on the gas to get through a light as it turned yellow. His right hand was still in Obi-Wan’s, his left with a firm grasp on the wheel, and from where Obi-Wan sat he couldn’t see the scarred side of his face. It made him look younger and far less grave, but there was something so distinctly  _ Cody  _ about the twisting scar. It made him who he was, just another tiny part of a larger, impossibly wonderful whole.

“You’re staring.”

Caught, Obi-Wan flushed, recovering quickly enough to smooth out his voice and return with, “How could I not?”

Once again, Cody managed to look both inordinately embarrassed and pleased, though the smile dropped from his face far quicker this time. “I— I’m going to say something and I ask that you let me say it all without interruption. I’ve never been much good with words and I want to make sure this all comes out right.” He pulled his hand out of Obi-Wan’s grasp, his eyes still firmly on the road, his jaw set as though bracing himself. “I’ve come to look forward to when you and the students visit the park, those two days each month when my job becomes a little less solitary. I don’t know what you intended by inviting me to the party tonight, if you meant it to be friendly or something more, but that dance with you… it made my feelings that much harder to ignore. If you weren’t looking for something romantic, if this idiotic confession only estranges us—” Cody paused, and it took everything in Obi-Wan to not interrupt him then and there. “ — I can live with that. However, I’m not sure if I’d be able to live with myself if I let a chance like this slip through my fingers.”

Distantly, Obi-Wan realized they’d reached the hospital parking lot, but far be it from him to stop Cody now.

“I’ve been pretty unlucky in the romance department and I’m afraid I just gave up, but… I’m willing to give it one more try. If that’s not what you want, I understand.”

Having said his piece, Cody finally tore his gaze from the windshield, searching Obi-Wan’s face. He must have seen something he didn’t like because he started to pull away, his face closing off back to that reserved expression Obi-Wan was used to.

Oh, that wouldn’t do.

Wanting to put Cody’s fears to rest, Obi-Wan said, “Forgive me.” Dark brows twitched downward in a barely-there look of confusion. “Forgive me for ever making you think I don’t return your feelings. In truth, until our dance tonight I worried  _ I _ might be alone in this.”

Cody’s expression went impossibly soft before he smiled, full of dry humor. “We sure can pick a time to have a heart-to-heart, huh?” He reached out again, grasping Obi-Wan’s fingers in a brief, tight grip. “Now go get your niece and nephew.”

“Well, they’re not born yet,” Obi-Wan laughed, returning the gesture before he slipped from the truck’s worn seat. Shutting the door behind him, he paused long enough to say through the open window, “Thank you, Cody, for what has been a most interesting first date.”

Cody’s eyes crinkled at the corners, one side of his mouth curling just a bit higher than the other. “My pleasure.”

————————

Obi-Wan woke up warm, a baffling occurrence thanks to the drafty windows his landlord never seemed to have time to get fixed. Normally he would have piled blankets atop blankets to combat the unseasonable early-April chill but now, it seemed, he had only the thin sheet.

His brain began catching up to his wakeful state and he registered a weight across his torso and heat at his back.

Cody.

The man was a deep sleeper, Obi-Wan knew that much, and he felt he could comfortably maneuver around without waking him. He rolled himself over in increments, taking care not to disturb the arm over his waist until they were no longer front-to-back but facing each other. Cody barely stirred as Obi-Wan tucked himself closer into his broad chest, enveloped in warmth, the beat of his heart steady beneath Obi-Wan’s hand as he drifted off again.

He awoke again a short time later and sighed, resigning himself to wakefulness; still, he didn’t move from where he was nested comfortably under Cody’s chin, relishing the heat from his bare skin. A long moment after he’d settled in Cody murmured, groggy and half-asleep, “Put your icy feet on mine and I’m kicking you out.”

“You would oust a man from his own bed?”

“Yes,” came Cody’s instantaneous reply, his arm tugging Obi-Wan closer even as he said it.

“Despite the bed being oh-so-cold without him?”

“It’s too early for your teasing, Obi-Wan.” Cody’s foul mood sounded more forced than anything but Obi-Wan, amenable, stopped talking. Obi-Wan was a morning person; Cody, very much  _ not. _

Reaching up, Obi-Wan ran his fingers through Cody’s curls, hazy memories from the night before resurfacing; his hands in Cody’s hair, the other man’s lips on his throat as he coaxed soft moans out of him. Obi-Wan adored his hair, just long enough to card his fingers through and deceptively soft. He adored his thighs, too, thickset with both muscle and fat, and the firm curve of muscle in his shoulders and chest that gave way to a more softly padded stomach. His wry humor, his quiet nature, his unending love for his brothers — in short, Obi-Wan adored everything about Cody.

“I can practically hear the gears spinning,” Cody said from above, sounding slightly more awake. “What are you thinking about?”

“You,” Obi-Wan replied, blunt. He didn’t have to see Cody’s face to know he was blushing. “We have another few minutes until the alarm, if you’d like to go back to sleep.”

Obi-Wan felt the brush of air from Cody’s quiet huff of laughter. “Your hair keeps tickling my cheek, Obi-Wan.” Calloused fingers brushed a few strands back from his forehead and Obi-Wan tried not to push up into the touch like a loth-cat.

“My apologies, then.” Feeling slightly guilty, he moved to pull back, stopped by Cody’s arm around his waist.

“I seem to recall something about a few more minutes… you’re not going anywhere, Kenobi.”

And how could Obi-Wan say no to that?

When the alarm did go off eight minutes later, Cody appeared inclined to throw it across the room and not move an inch. Obi-Wan saved it from this dire fate, turning it off in seconds and sliding out of Cody’s arms. “We have to be at the lecture hall by oh-eight-hundred. I’ll start the eggs if you make the bed when you get out.” Cody sighed heavily and tugged the sheet back up to his chin. Obi-Wan didn’t begrudge him for it, early mornings were the only time he saw Cody come anything close to being lazy and watching the typically driven ranger grumble “five more minutes” like a teenaged Anakin brought a smile to his face.

Halfway to the kitchen already, Obi-Wan called over his shoulder, “If you’re not up by the time breakfast is done, I’m eating yours!”

“Ha, ha.”

To Obi-Wan’s surprise, Cody was in the kitchen before the pan was even hot, squinting in the bright light but decidedly awake. “Don’t you have to be there early with your students?”

“I plan on getting there a bit early to offer some encouragement beforehand, but I’m not involved in the presentation itself. Their research, their thesis, their presentation; I was, after all, only an overqualified chaperone on those research trips.”

“You and me both,” Cody laughed, “Though I wouldn’t even call myself overqualified.” Before Obi-Wan could protest that, Cody was slipping past him to reach for the breadbox, putting two pieces on to toast before he got out of the way. Toast was really the most Cody could do in regards to cooking, and his delight in Obi-Wan’s skills never ceased to amuse him.

Breakfast was a short affair before they piled into Cody’s truck, Obi-Wan wincing at the rattle of the engine when it started, Cody, as usual, just smiling at Obi-Wan’s reaction. As though the noise reminded him, Cody said, “I feel like I haven’t asked in a while, how are the kids?”

“Oh, they’re both trouble,” Obi-Wan sighed as Cody peeled out of the apartment lot and into the street. “Fortunately for all of us, they got a little more of their mother than their father in them — I shudder to think of what a terror two infant Anakins would be.”

***

“Sometimes I can only thank the gods that I wasn’t the one to raise Hardcase through infancy,” Cody replied carefully. Obi-Wan knew little of the youngest Fett, full of the same restless anger that had plagued Anakin for so long and only seventeen when he’d attempted to take his own life.

Softer, Cody added, “But sometimes I think if I had, he might not have tried—” He swallowed, visibly shaking his head as he shook off those thoughts, and Obi-Wan laid a hand on his shoulder.

***

“Now’s not the time for that, is it? How’s Sheeva been with all this? She’s so quiet just in conversation, I can’t imagine her speaking to an audience like this one.”

Cody opened up in increments, Obi-Wan knew: it had taken six separate conversations to get the whole story of the accident that had given Cody his scar and killed his brother Ponds. Because of this, he didn’t push, taking Cody’s blatant out and replying, “Well, you also know how she is when she gets started on something she loves.”

“You couldn’t stop her for your life.”

“Exactly.” Obi-Wan grinned.

————————

When they reached the lecture hall, Obi-Wan disappeared into the adjoining classroom where his students were readying for their presentation, leaving Cody to find a seat amongst the various guests attending the presentation. Obi-Wan would be seated in the front row along with several other Earth and Environment professors, as he was partially responsible for grading, and the next several rows were taken up by representatives from the museum, the local government’s Environmental Department, and even Kamino National Park. Shaak Ti, seated in the third row and easily identifiable by her height and her distinctive, curling montrals, smiled at Cody when she caught his eyes, nodding a silent greeting as he sidled into a seat a few rows behind her.

The students’ thesis presentation was technical and data-driven, Cody only understood much of it because he’d monitored their work and talked with them over the last eight months. In the time during which they’d performed their tests, the Resolute Basin’s pollution had improved, a trend that, Zehas predicted, would continue so long as authorities persisted in their crackdown on local contaminant dumping.

Cody was overjoyed to see this final culmination of all the students’ hard work, and when Shreik announced his continued work on the River Basin as an intern with local government, he felt as proud as if it had been his own student.

Nearing the tail end of the presentation, Koren stepped onto stage, gold tattoos glowing under the bright lights. “One method often used to measure water quality, far less scientific than many of our other methods but no less accurate, is to look for indicator species. For this, we’d like to thank Kamino National Park Ranger Cody Fett, whose  _ thorough _ knowledge of native species was invaluable to us during our time in the park.”

Cody’s face burned as several pairs of eyes fixed on him (namely Fisto, Koon, and Shaak), the rest of the audience following suit when they saw three heads turning in the same direction. On stage, Koren laughed. “Yes, he’s here now, but I won’t ask him to come up... I’m guessing he’d rather die than do that.”

Yes, Cody  _ would _ rather die than have any sort of crowd’s attention on him. How perceptive of the Kiffar, if a moment too late.

A graph appeared behind Koren, a steady, upward-trending line. “Our first day at the river basin Cody identified an animal known as a vespet, what we later found out to be a male based on the markings. Vespets are an indicator species, vulnerable to pollution, but what makes them especially valuable to our research is their unusual habits. They don’t hibernate in cold weather like most amphibians, meaning our sightings of them varied only with changes in river health. No matter the month, we could rely on vespet numbers as an indication of the river’s pollution. As you’ll see by this graph, populations increased relatively steadily, with a small drop in the spring possibly due to the reemergence of predator species.”

A projected image of one of the little green-and-red creatures was displayed behind Koren. “This is the one we saw that first day, and though we couldn't exactly take him home with us, someone framed this picture that now hangs over Professor Kenobi’s desk. Later, someone else labeled the photo with a sticky note and a name, so… let me introduce you all to Cody II.” Koren gestured to the vespet behind him, met with quiet laughter from the audience.

With that humorous wrap on the presentation, Cody doing his best to sink into his seat and through the floor, the lecture hall lights turned back on and visitors began filing out. The students and Obi-Wan found him minutes later, several of them visibly amused at his disgruntled expression. Pointedly ignoring Obi-Wan, Cody congratulated each and every student before rounding on him. “Why didn’t you tell me about Cody II?”

Bajar immediately doubled over in laughter, Jes snickering as Myr muttered a drawn out, “Oooh” under their breath.

Obi-Wan, diplomatic as ever, raised his hands in a placating gesture. “I wasn’t aware they named him.”

“There  _ was  _ a sticky note,” Shreik offered unhelpfully. Obi-Wan’s flat glare was met with more laughter.

“I don’t  _ care _ that an amphibian was named after me, I just wonder why I wasn’t told. If I have a famous doppelganger, I need to know.” He kept the same deadpan expression on his face, but both the students and Obi-Wan finally caught on to his humor.

Jes grinned. “He’s not a doppelganger, he’s your son, hence the II suffix.”

“An understandable mistake, of course. May I ask who’s the mother?”

“Well, his last name—” Myr’s mouth snapped shut faster than the jaws of a bear trap as each and every student turned to them with varying degrees of alarm written across their faces. Cody gave Obi-Wan a baffled shrug in response to the other man’s creased brow.

Disregarding their classmates’ ire, Myr fiddled with the end of a tentacle and uttered, so quietly that Cody was sure he’d misheard, “Kenobi.”

“I’m sorry?” Obi-Wan sounded incredulous.

“Well, when someone named him Cody — we still don’t know who, by the way — we all mutually agreed he should have a last name too. So, uhh, we all agreed it might be funny… since you two…”

“You named the vespet Cody Kenobi,” Obi-Wan finished for them, not missing the way they all grimaced.

“Yes?”

The ensuing silence stretched painfully long.

Cody was the first to break, clutching the seat back as he tilted his head back and  _ howled _ with laughter, the others joining in a moment later.

When he’d finally caught his breath again, Obi-Wan ran a hand through his hair and said, chagrined, “So, the tooka’s out of the bag?”

“Professor, the tooka’s been out of the bag since day one.”

Obi-Wan’s sigh might have seemed a bit more world-weary if not for the upward curl of his lips and the glint in his blue eyes.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be shorter (like 2k words) and a New Years fic but I'm lazy and the whole thing ran away from me so... have this 8k, one-week-late monstrosity
> 
> Nobody:  
> Me, projecting through obiwan: thick thighs :))))


End file.
